VP Sara is not mentally ill

It’s been more than a week since the two-hour rant of Vice President Sara Duterte and people are still talking about it.

In her unbridled tirade, she threatened to exhume the cadaver of former president Ferdinand Marcos and throw his remains in the West Philippine Sea. This was followed by a threat to behead President Bongbong Marcos. These were just two of many controversial statements uttered by the VP, along with a good dose of invectives.

As one would expect, Sandro Marcos and Matthew Manotoc, both third generation Marcoses, condemned the words of the Vice President and alluded that she may be mentally unstable. Members of Congress and the Senate chimed in to reinforce the observation that indeed, the Vice President acted irrationally and is in need of psychiatric help.

The situation was not helped by the Vice President’s videos that followed her rant. Several videos circulated on TikTok depicted her in a cabaret-like costume, dancing with her household help.

To many, it seemed “off,” given the seriousness of her circumstances. After all, no sane person wiggles their hips in a feathered hat amid a corruption and competency investigation.

Last Saturday, I had dinner with friends from my high school alma mater, one of whom is a licensed psychiatrist. Of course, the topic of the evening revolved around VP Sara’s supposed meltdown.

Everyone in the table agreed that the VP’s rant was not a symptom of mental illness – at least not in the clinical sense of it. Rather, it was a reaction of a “wounded animal” who believes she is unjustly persecuted.

Let’s not forget that the father, Rodrigo Duterte, held various positions in government since 1986. As such, the Duterte siblings grew up with privilege, entitle-ment and the notion that they are above the law. After all, such was the case in their fiefdom of Davao. Politics was (and remains to be) their father’s business and he derived immense wealth and power from it. When the children were of age, they too joined the family business, amassing even more wealth, power and privilege.

The family business (politics) made the Duterte siblings feel untouchable. Sadly, their sense of entitlement was not reined in by the father, who himself was entitled and abusive.

The outburst of the Vice President last week was the culmination of her perceived persecution. It was the manifestation of her anger for the revocation of her perks, which she believed she is entitled to. Her resentment towards the Marcoses was palpable, especially in light of the political support she had extended to them in the 2022 elections. She feels betrayed and duped. Adding insult to injury is the embarrassment she feels for having her performance at the Depart-ment of Education and Office of the Vice President belittled.

The crass words and violent imagery used in her rant simply reflect the culture of the Duterte family. Blasphemy, disrespect for norms, breaking taboos, pro-fanity and violence is “normal” in the Duterte household. We have been witness to it for years. Although repulsive by polite society’s standards, it is simply rou-tine for the Dutertes. She is a product of how she was parented.

As for the VP’s TikTok videos, my psychiatrist friend says this is meant to mock her detractors, as if to say that she is unaffected, despite the persecution.

So all in all, I am of the persuasion that the VP’s supposed meltdown was not a result of mental instability. Rather, it is a result of her upbringing. Was it justi-fied? No… but it is not entirely her fault. She was brought up that way. I write it off as just another Duterte-esque tirade that failed to amuse but instead, back-fired.

Unacceptable

The statements I found unacceptable, however, occurred during an ambush interview following the VP’s speech at the 50th Philippine Business Conference. In that interview, it became clear to me that the VP is delusional, calloused and/or tone-deaf to history.

She was asked what it would take for her to mend her relationship with the Marcoses. To which she responded, for her to even consider it, the Marcoses must first apologize to the congregation of Apollo Quiboloy for how they were treated when the self-proclaimed son of god used his flock as human shields.

I thought this was “rich” coming from a Duterte. The VP forgets that the country is still smarting from the extrajudicial killings resulting from a war on drugs that was a smokescreen and a complete failure. From the social crimes brought about by POGOs. From the Pharmally scam that robbed the Filipino of scarce resources at the time they needed it most. From the alleged multibillion-peso corruption scams, not the least of which were the PhilHealth scandal, al-leged rice and shabu smuggling and flood control rip-offs. And the gravest sin of all, acting in China’s interest by defending and/or refusing to comment on Chinese aggression towards Philippine forces.

Another “rich” demand was when she asked the Marcoses to apologize to all those being investigated by the House and Senate. Again, the VP forgets that many were subjected to congressional investigations and prosecuted using fabricated evidence during her father’s term. The case of senator Leila de Lima tells the whole story. Perhaps senator de Lima deserves an apology first.

But the most delusional statement of all was when she referred to herself as “outrageously outstanding.” There simply is no performance equity to draw from to support this statement.

In the final analysis, I do not believe that the VP is mentally ill. What I do think is that she needs a hard dose of reality to shake her off her delusion and enti-tlement.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan